Watch: ONE Championship heavyweight 'Buchecha' illustrates developing standup through Muay Thai drills

Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida has been developing his striking game recently. (Images courtesy: ONE Championship, @marcusbuchecha on Instagram)
Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida has been developing his striking game recently. (Images courtesy: ONE Championship, @marcusbuchecha on Instagram)

13-time jiu-jitsu world champion and ONE Championship heavyweight Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida is increasingly becoming the most dominant threat in the heavyweight division.

Considered one of, if not the most, successful submission grapplers of all time, 'Buchecha' has translated his jiu-jitsu wizardry into the MMA world. It's not, however, enough if he wants to be successful against world-class cage fighters.

In his pair of wins inside the ONE Championship cage, 'Buchecha' has dominated his opponents on the ground. One thing to make a note of, however, was how the Brazilian legend brought the fight there.

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His 1-2 straight to the double leg is right out of Randy Couture's MMA playbook. 'Buchecha' patiently waits on the outside, studies his opponents' tendencies, then shoots only when he knows they won't see it coming. He uses his strikes to open up grappling opportunities. The former jiu-jitsu champion understands the nuances of the sport and doesn't rely heavily on his grappling to get things done.

In his recent Instagram post, we can see 'Buchecha' expanding his repertoire with kicks. Practicing Muay Thai combinations with a training partner, the 13-time grappling world champion is getting more comfortable throwing high kicks.

This addition to his arsenal might complement 'Buchecha's' grappling well. Throwing high kicks can open you up to getting taken down. With the grappling acumen that the 32-year-old has, however, the idea of getting taken down may not be as threatening. Look to see the Brazilian freely throw his kicks in the cage once he gets the technique on point.

Watch his training video here:


'Buchecha' will face Reug Reug at ONE Championship: Reloaded

MMA Fighting reported that Brazilian star Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida will make his third pro MMA bout against Senegalese wrestling icon ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane. The match will take place at ONE: Reloaded on April 22.

Almeida made short work of his first two opponents, Anderson Silva and Kang Ji Won inside 5 minutes. Meanwhile, ‘Reug Reug’ is a star in his home country of Senegal and is an icon of their martial art, “lutte avec frappe”, widely known as Senegalese wrestling.

'Reug Reug' is a veteran of a sport that's mostly based on grappling with strikes. It's no surprise that, in his 4-fight MMA career so far, Kane has scored all of his wins via knockout.

Both men will have different martial arts styles heading into their ONE Championship contest. With 'Reug Reug' having stronger grappling than his previous opponents, Buchecha will have to use his other tools to get the win come fight night.

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Edited by Dave
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